The nurse is teaching self–breast examination to a client and demonstrates inspecting the breasts with arms over the head. The client asks the nurse why this is necessary. The nurse would respond with which of the following?

Question

1. "It allows any masses to bulge forward to be seen.".
2. "This is the only position to detect Paget's disease.".
3. "This is the best position to look for skin dimpling.".
4. "It is the only way to look for nipple retraction.".

Answer 1

3
Rationale 1: Masses are rarely visible with inspection so stating that this position would allow for any masses to bulge forward to be seen is an inaccurate statement.
Rationale 2: Paget's disease is a rare type of breast cancer typified by a red, scaly, eczema-like area over the nipple and, like nipple retraction, does not have to be visualized with the arms over the head.
Rationale 3: This statement is accurate since recent dimpling of the skin over a mass is often a visible sign of breast cancer, and it is accentuated with the client's arms over the head.
Rationale 4: Nipple retraction is a possible sign of breast cancer, but it does not require the arms over the head for visualization.